Espoir
by rubyredtears
Summary: Sasuke’s first school year in the prep school known as Konoha Prep is a bit more than he can handle so he transfers to the prestigious art school across the street. What happens when Sasuke's tormentors have to attend his school after three years?
1. Chapter 1

Okay guys, new story!!!!!!!!!! This idea has kind of been distracting me from Never Too Late, so now that I've written out this first chapter, the next chapter of that should be out SOON!!

I'm so sorry I've made you wait for so long but life gets in the way sometimes you know…

Anyways, on with this one, maybe it'll make up for the wait. This will be a bit darker than the other stories I have ever written so I hope you all like it.

Summary: Sasuke's first high school year in the prep school known as Konoha Prep is a bit more than he can handle and after that one year he transfers to the prestigious art school across the street with a few self-esteem issues. Now after three years, what happens when Konoha Prep burns down during the summer and the students are transferred to the nearest school to finish out a brand new year and Sasuke comes into contact with the guys who caused him so much pain before?

Warnings: YAOI!!!! However, I'm not going to tell you the pairing yet, because… well… I don't know it yet! It's kind of one of those see as it goes along kind of things. Feel free to offer you opinions, but it has to be a yaoi, it has to have Sasuke as the uke, and it has to work with the plot. I personally am looking for another NejiSasu cuz' there just aren't enough of them out there or GaaraSasu cuz' it's so sweet and extremely hot! But your opinions will be considered. Also, language, references to past cutting and drugs. And child abuse.

Disclaimer: I find this part extremely stupid. I mean if I owned Naruto do you really think I'd be typing this story on a fan fiction site, no. It would be on the tele. All this little section does is make me and other writers extremely depressed.

Onto the story…

Chapter 1: An Irony that is Definitely Not Funny

_It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. –_ Andre Gide

The day before school started was a dreary day, the rain came down in torrents and the grayish-black clouds blocked the sun almost completely, creating a very bleak atmosphere. It was just the sort of day the occupant of room 2S adored. Said occupant was sitting in front of the window watching with a gentle calm.

The occupant was a young boy, though you couldn't tell at first glance. For the boy was androgynous in appearance. His head was resting on a delicate looking hand with long fingers (artists hands his friends said), that was attached to a fragile looking arm. He had a slight frame that three years ago appeared awkward and scrawny but now was shapely and desirable, with narrow shoulders and a thin waist. His hips had a slightly feminine curve to them and most of his five feet eight inches was due to long well shaped legs. The boy had refined, aristocratic features; high cheekbones, a thin cute nose, and plump pink lips. His eyes were a charcoal gray, so dark they appeared to be black, and right now they reflected a lazy satisfaction. His hair offered no clue as to his gender either, it fell to just past his shoulder and was naturally layered in a way most girls would pay for and still not get. His bangs went to about chin length and the color was now the purest black and felt silky to the touch, but three years ago it was slightly ashy and felt like hay. Pale porcelain skin seemed to glow against the dark backdrop of the storm outside, it was completely unblemished, much different from the blotchy, imperfect skin of three years ago.

Three years ago, he was an awkward geeky little kid. Now he was considered the most beautiful person on campus, or so the yearbook claimed him to be for the past two years, really he didn't pay much attention to trivial things like that.

No, Sasuke Uchiha had much more important things on his mind at the moment.

Take for instance the prep school across the street that had two months ago burned down to the ground. Sasuke couldn't see the charred remains from his dorm, the prep school was south of the school and the dorms were positioned in the north, but he went down to see what had happened that night and sure enough the only thing that had remained was the football field since the grass had been too moist to catch on fire with all the rain they had been getting over the summer. The rest of the hell-school was nothing but a pile of ash, dust, and ruined brick walls.

Sasuke wouldn't have really cared about the school burning down. In fact, the little devil Sasuke was laughing on the inside when he had first heard about it. When he was twelve Sasuke was offered a scholarship to the Art Institution of Konoha, he had wanted to take them up on that offer but his parents (which means his father and his mother agreeing with whatever he said) hadn't been to keen on his already "worthless" son attending a private arts school. You see Sasuke was an Uchiha, which meant he was supposed to go to the traditional school (Konoha Prep), attend some prestigious college, and become either a doctor or take a spot in the family business. Needless to say he had lost out in that first argument.

He had gone there for one solid year, his first year in what was deemed high school, at the insistence of his parents. Well at the demands of his parents. After that year Sasuke refused to go back, he contacted the headmaster at the Art Institution of Konoha and asked if the offer was still available and took it when she said that, of course, it was. Sasuke took it without a second thought, kind of like when his father threw him out of the house and disowned him. He literally threw Sasuke's stuff out the window and then grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him down the front porch steps with the order to never come to the house again. His mother had looked on with slightly damp eyes but she didn't voice any objections she may have had, as per usual. Itachi had just looked bored, remaining forever silent to his brother's life.

He hadn't really cared. It wasn't as if his family was really a family anyways, besides, his school was very accommodating to kids in his situation. Apparently the head of the school, Mrs.Tsunade, had been an orphan growing up and had no problem with taking in a kid who had no parents or, in his case, had been disowned.

Sasuke was tormented at Konoha Prep on an hourly basis. Not a day went by when he didn't feel like what his father told him he was every time he got fed up and hit him, worthless. Nothing that was what he was. His father couldn't stand him. This was for the very simple reason of him not being like his older brother, Itachi. Itachi was a genius, the only reason he wasn't already done with college by now was because he had refused to skip grades. Sasuke never understood why, after all Itachi thrived on advancement. But because Sasuke didn't have the drive to become a successful business man like Itachi, he was the disappointment. And his father liked to point that out every chance he got. When his father would come home after particularly hard days at work, he would drink, and then it wasn't just verbal abuse. Sasuke couldn't count the number of times he had hid in his closet just to be drug out by his father to be screamed at and beaten. His mother turned a blind eye. He was never beaten in front of anyone, but he felt that she knew what was happening to her son. She was just too submissive and cowardly to say anything against it.

He grew up hearing everyday that he was nothing, and over time he began to believe it, he stopped taking as good of care of himself as he used to. He stopped eating, sleep hardly ever came and when it did it was a fitful sleep fraught with nightmares.

The kids at school didn't help his self-esteem or sense of self-worth at all. No, they had made it even worse. Many of the upperclassmen had taken to constantly harassing Sasuke about everything. One group in particular seemed to like tormenting him above all others. Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, Chouji Akimichi, Neji Hyuuga, and the rest of their little group were two years a head of him in school. They were the star jocks in a multitude of sports, which included bullying Sasuke at every given opportunity. Sasuke had ignored it, and kept all of his pain inside until one day he went to his locker only to find that it had been pried open and two of his full sketchbooks were completely destroyed.

Sasuke had run out of the school crying that day, it had finally gotten to be too much. When he arrived at the empty house he grabbed one of his mother's unattached razors. That was first time he ever cut himself, December 13th, his birthday. He had cut everyday from then on.

Sasuke knew that they picked on him because of the way that he looked. But he also knew that they picked on him because of his sexual orientation. It was no secret that Sasuke was gay, and it wasn't a secret because his dearest brother announced it to his friends, who spread the word naturally, so the school knew the very first day he walked through those big stupid blue doors. He and his brother were not on good terms, but neither were they ever on bad terms. Really, they weren't on any type of terms. Ever since Sasuke could remember, his brother had pretended that he didn't exist, he didn't know why, it was just Itachi and he often treated everybody oddly. Sometimes he was grateful for it, one less person to make his life miserable. Other times he felt that Itachi's silence and indifference was worse anything he could have said or did. At least if he was tormenting him he was acknowledging his existence.

The silence just further proved how worthless and meaningless he was.

That was the attitude he had gone into his new school with. He had tried drugs once or twice over that summer, but he didn't like how they made him feel even more out of control than he already was, not to mention getting drugs meant having money, something he was lacking at that time in his life. So he had stuck to cutting, until his roommate found out about and started to do something about it.

Gaara Sabaku wasn't the most social person in the world; in fact most people were afraid of him. It wasn't that he was violent or gave people a reason to be afraid of him, he was just intimidating. He was also very quiet, almost more so than Sasuke, so they lived in relative harmony. They were neither friends nor enemies, and they barely said a word to each other while they went through the first few weeks of the school year. One day Gaara came back from class and found Sasuke lying in the bathroom doorway, apparently he had cut a bit to deep and after not eating the whole day he had gotten weak and passed out. Gaara cleaned his wounds and took care of him until he came to. He wasn't going to say anything, it would go against his nature, but Gaara recognized the pain in Sasuke's eyes and couldn't just let him go on suffering. He had slowly befriended the raven-haired tragedy and had shown him that he had a purpose, he wasn't worthless, and that there was someone who gave a damn about him.

Over the rest of the year Sasuke had begun to make a small group of friend. There was Shikamaru Nara, an unknown genius who preferred his bass far more than advanced calculus, he was extremely lazy and would often complain about being woken up when they decided to do anything but he tagged along never the less. There was Shino Aburame, who had a keen interest in bugs, but loved his guitar with equal fervor, he was extremely quiet. Then there was Hinata Hyuuga, a painter, Sasuke was wary of her because of her connection to Neji, but her shy personality and genuine care soon won him over, now she was like a sister to him. Deidara is the only senior among the group; he's the drama freak of the group, and also the one to initiate most of their conversations. There was also Die, the prankster of the group, he played the drums and you could recognize him just by looking at his hair; it was done so that the sides were short but the middle got longer the closer to the forehead you got making the longest piece come down to his chin and cover one eye, not to mention it was blue. Then of course there was Gaara, who pulled him out of his depression and self-depreciation, while they were becoming friends it surprised him how much they had in common. Though Gaara wasn't much of an artist when it came to the 2D plane, he had an amazing voice and while Sasuke wrote the lyrics, Gaara would put them into a song.

Gaara, Die, Shino, and Shikamaru had a band called Espoir. Sasuke was fluent in French, as well as Japanese and English, one day back when the band was forming Gaara had asked what the French word for Hope was. Sasuke told him and that became their name. Sasuke asked him why once; Gaara just told him that their entire group of artists symbolized Hope, so that was what the band would be called. Deidara had once said how it was funny that they had a French name yet sung in Japanese, Gaara had just shrugged and Die had chuckled.

So, Sasuke wrote the lyrics, and the band played them. Mostly Hinata, Deidara, and himself would sit in the auditorium that they practiced in and listened to them play. Sometimes they would be struck by inspiration and they too would go to work as the band rolled out songs. Hinata would set up her easel, Sasuke would set up his easel or grab his sketch book, and Deidara would grab the script of whatever play he was working on and begin scribbling away.

Life was good for once, Sasuke smiled now, he laughed more freely, and while he still very cynical and slightly untrusting, he was happy. Gaara didn't have to worry about coming into their shared room and find him curled up bleeding from the wrists. But more than that, he finally had somewhere he belonged; he didn't feel like he was alone in the world with no one to go to. He had his friends, no, his family. That was all he needed, and no one could take that away from him.

Sasuke sighed and brought one of those pale, graceful, artist's hands to touch the cool glass of the darkened window. He gave a small smile of contentment before returning to the book he had been reading before he chose to stop and admire the storm. He clicked the lamp on the bedside table back on, casting a warm glow around the spacious room. He and Gaara's dorm was on the top floor, though most considered that a disadvantage, it was actually one of the biggest dorms on campus. It was more like a small apartment rather than a dorm actually. The top three dorms in four separate buildings were reserved for the kids who were abandoned with no other place to go. Apparently it one of Tsunade's earlier additions. They both shared a rather spacious room with one bathroom; there was also a small living room with a little kitchen area attached. While both Sasuke and Gaara had a job, they just didn't make enough money to afford there own place, along with groceries, and other essential living needs. So Tsunade provided the shelter, running water, electricity, and conditioning system, while the kids paid for groceries and other such things if they had jobs.

Sasuke wasn't sure about all the other inhabitants in his and Gaara's situation. He knew Die and Deidara shared the apartment next to theirs, and he knew that two girls named Rikku and Paine shared the one below. He also knew a senior named Haku who lived in another building, they were pretty good friends, but he didn't know who he lived with. Other than that though he had no clue. Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru all had families and lived in the smaller dorms during the school year and returned home during long holidays and summer break. Some might have thought it would be boring to live all that time in a school, but it was a private school, so while they didn't really have any sports, they did have a big inside pool and a tennis court. Then there was the monstrous library that was located in the west hall. Besides, there was still work, his art, and hanging out with the Gaara, Deidara, and Die since the others usually went on vacation with their parents. There wasn't really any boredom to speak of; actually it was usually very busy.

Sasuke smiled as he heard a loud "bam" from next door. It was probably Deidara trying a stunt for his newest play, he didn't write action filled plays, but there were sometimes elements that were rather dangerous to perform. His thoughts suddenly turned from his friends reckless antics to the new conditions the school would be undergoing this year. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, into a frustrated expression. All of the students of Konoha Prep would now be taking their classes at the Art Institute of Konoha, it being the biggest school in the area. As of 10:00 pm Saturday, July 4th, all their regular core classes would be taken with the students of Konoha Prep, Sasuke didn't yet know how the teachers would be teaching simultaneously, but really that was a minor detail. All the guys who had tormented him would be seniors this year, which meant that they would be in the same vicinity as him. Somehow, he just didn't think that would be the best situation, he certainly didn't want to see them, and who knows what Gaara and the others would do if they came into contact.

"You look pensive, is something wrong?" Gaara's voice made Sasuke jump in surprise. The raven haired teen turned in the comfy chair to look at the other teen. Gaara had gone through a growth spurt during the summer; he was now standing at about 5'11'' and didn't look as thin as he did when Sasuke had met him, thanks to Sasuke's cooking. But the short messy red hair and pale mint green eyes were still the same as always.

"No just thinking about the upcoming year." Sasuke said, getting up to help Gaara with the grocery bags that were in his hands. "Are there more in the car?"

Gaara shook his head in a negative sign, "If they try anything, I'll personally make their throats smile." Gaara had a cold glint in his eyes, cluing Sasuke into the fact that he was completely serious.

"Please don't do anything like that Gaara." Sasuke replied quietly as he put the milk in the refrigerator.

Gaara leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at Sasuke with a thoughtful gaze, "You're way too nice Sasuke. They don't deserve it."

"You're right they don't." Sasuke whispered, "But I don't want you to get into any trouble. If you want to beat the shit out of them that's fine, just make sure it's not on school campus and that you don't kill them. I'd rather you didn't land yourself in jail for 1st degree murder."

Gaara chuckled, "I wouldn't really kill them, but it would be pretty damn close."

Sasuke sighed in exasperation, "I know, and now that you've said that I'd rather you didn't physically harm them unless they do anything. I know I wouldn't be able to talk you out of it then."

Gaara pushed himself off the counter and walked over to Sasuke. He ruffled his hair and gave him a small smile, "You're damn right. I'll take care of the rest of this, why don't you start dinner?"

Cooking always calmed Sasuke down, Gaara knew that. Sasuke smiled at the suggestion and nodded. However, even cooking couldn't keep Sasuke's mind from thinking about what tomorrow would bring. Yes, this was definitely some sort of irony, and though Sasuke usually found irony funny, he was certainly not amused.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm very happy right now, it's storming, I have a new story up, I'm almost finished with chapter five of Never Too Late, and my drawing has improved greatly! What a great day...

Sooooo... don't forget to tell me what you think the pairing should be, I'm open to suggestions!!!

And PLEASE REVIEW!!! seriously, if I don't get the encouragement, I might not go any further with this...

bye-bye


	2. Chapter 2

HIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sosososososo sorry for making you wait sooooooooooooo long for this! but well between being a junior in high school, practically running my house, and somehow still managing to maintain a social life, writing has been very difficult. Anyways this is Chapter 2 of Espoir, a story I'm hoping that all of you will enjoy.

I would like to take this time to thank each and every one of you who reviewed either of my stories. Especially Tuli-Susi and DancingDragonBlaze!!! i love all of you!!!

For Warnings and Disclaimer, look to the first chapter...

so without making you wait a second longer...

Chapter 2...

_Things do not change; we change._

- _Henry David Thoreau_

The landscape was phenomenal. The grass was easter green and continued to slope down the hill, not stopping until it reached the lake at the bottom. The sky was the palest of blues; the sun high in the sky, reflecting off the waters almost glassy surface. The sakura trees were in full bloom and two old-fashioned swings hung from the northern most tree, at the tip top of the hill. A little boy sat on one, he had raven black hair, but his face wasn't visible as he was facing the opposite direction. It was a perfect picture, but something was missing. Something was always missing when Sasuke tried to draw this particular memory, as if something was supposed to be there but had been erased from his mind.

A few more paint strokes added wisps of clouds to the clear blue sky before the raven's face was drawn down into a pout.

The raven put his paint brush down and sighed. A strand of ebony hair cascaded down into his pale face and he momentarily thought about cutting it. Pushing away the utterly unhelpful thought, he went back to looking at his painting. He remembered that day, his fifth birthday. A day when his mind was still blissfully ignorant to the world of pain that he would eventually be thrust into. Growing frustrated that his thoughts did nothing but wander instead of simply telling him what was missing from the picture, Sasuke stood up and stretched. He slightly winced at the sound of his back popping and looked into the kitchen at the clock on the stove.

_4:47_

'Gaara should be home soon. I can't believe that the summer is already gone, wonder when everybody will be getting in.' The raven sighed and ran a hand through his long dark hair.

He looked over to a picture sitting on the kitchen counter. It was one of the many pictures of their gang, all of them sitting on the front step of the art school: Shino was on the top most step with Die sitting next to him, a large smile stretched on the jokesters face. Shikamaru sat next to Die, a lazy expression on his face but a slight smile and happy spark in his eyes betrayed his true emotions. Hinata was sitting on the step below Shikamaru, back straight in the proper Hyuuga manner, a smile on her face and her arm hooked with the raven that sat next to her. Sasuke himself was the said raven and he sat leaning on Die's knees, a small smile on his face and soft look in his eyes. Gaara of course was seated by his side, arm around his shoulders and a small soft smirk on his face. Deidara was the final one in the picture, seated on the step below Sasuke and Gaara, leaning on Sasuke and Gaara both, his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

That day was the last day of school last year, and Sasuke's birthday. Sasuke smiled sadly, this would be Deidara's last year here with them, and then the blonde would leave to realize his dreams. Sasuke was happy for him but he couldn't pretend that he wasn't a little upset by the knowledge that his friend would soon be leaving… and then the knowledge that all of them would leave eventually. Sasuke shook those depressing thoughts out of his mind. No matter what happened he would always have his family, they would stay in touch and Sasuke wouldn't be alone again.

Sasuke took comfort in that thought and started to straighten up a bit. One thing that not many people expected of him was the fact that he was actually quite the messy person. So needless to say, he was quite proud of himself when he had successfully cleaned up after himself for once.

Sasuke could honestly say that he loved his living arrangement. He and Gaara both had a fondness for darker colors, so they had painted the walls of the apartment a deep maroon color. The furniture and decorations were of natural earth tones and they had a multitude of candles always lit.

So caught up in inspecting the little area in which he lived, Sasuke jumped slightly at the unexpected sound of the door opening.

"SASUKE!!!"

Said teen could do nothing more than blink as the sole girl of their little family attached herself to his waist. Eventually though, reality caught up to the raven and he smiled as he slid his arms around the shorter girls neck.

"Hinata!" Sasuke laughed as the two parted, Gaara watching with a smile before disappearing into the kitchen before coming back with a few drinks that he placed on the table.

Sasuke looked towards the door as more people entered the little apartment. Shikamaru and Shino first, followed by Die and Deidara. The new school year started tomorrow, and it was customary for the group to share stories of their summers. The gang gathered in the small living room, each taking their respective seats in the cozy area.

Shikamaru told the group about his trip to Kyoto, somewhat of a family tradition for the Nara family. He talked in short sentences, using his regular 'catch phrases' as the group called them, such as 'it was such a drag' and 'so troublesome'. the group just laughed and told him that they were happy he enjoyed himself, to which he scoffed at and shook his head while rolling his eyes, a small hint of a smile on his face.

Shino talked quietly of his families trip to New York, where he enjoyed a visit to both the museum of insects and the Museum of Natural History. Deidara glowered in jealousy and shook his fist threateningly (or so he liked to think) when Shino mentioned that he had witnessed a show on Broadway, but calmed down when Shino mentioned that he had brought them all souvenirs also.

Hinata hesitated a bit when the group looked at her to tell of her summer, a habit she was known for around strangers, but came as a surprise around the group of friends.

The pale girl looked up at Sasuke, who cocked his head to the side curiously, "What is it Hinata, did something happen while on vacation?"

"N-Not really. My cousin came with us this year." Hinata said, still looking at Sasuke.

"Neji?" Sasuke asked, slightly surprised. As far as what Hinata had told him of Neji, he didn't exactly get along with his uncle or her little sister for that matter. So it was a surprise to hear that that Hyuuga had spent summer vacation with her family, given the less than amiable relationship between them.

Hinata shook her head, "He's living with us now, his father passed away last year."

"You didn't know this before the summer came?" Deidara asked, confused.

Hinata shook her head again, "I'm here through the entire school year, I only go home during the summer and it's not something you just write in a letter."

Sasuke was thoughtful for a moment. Out of all his tormentors in that old school, Neji Hyuuga was the least vicious. In fact, the only thing that Sasuke could remember him doing, was staying silent.

Neji never partook in the verbal abuse like the rest of his clique, and he never once laid a hand on the young Uchiha. 'He never raised a hand to help either though,' the vindictive side of Sasuke thought. However, there were times when the elder boy would look at him with those extremely pale eyes and Sasuke would catch a bit of sympathy, not what the young raven wanted but it was something. Though, Neji could have done much more than simply send him pitying glances.

Still the young raven couldn't help the pang of sympathy that went out to the Hyuuga.

'Things sure have changed…' Sasuke thought, his chin coming down to rest on his palm, unaware of the mint green eyes watching him very studiously.

Neji Hyuuga sat down on the large bed of his room and sighed. Pale eyes swept carelessly over his luggage and his black backpack before locking onto the mirror across the vast room. He took in his appearance slowly. There were no bags under his eyes, despite how tired and exhausted he felt, his skin was still slightly tanned, thanks to the training he went through for football and soccer over the summer. He gained more muscle over the summer, once again thanks to the training he had immersed himself in. All in all, his outside showed nothing of the inner turmoil that he felt.

He looked away and stood back up, grabbing his bags and heading down to the driveway where his car sat. There would be no good-byes, no one was home and truly the other occupants of the house weren't really concerned about him at all. He placed his things into the trunk of his black mustang and was about to get in when his cell phone rang.

Opaque eyes looked curiously at the number before pressing the send button.

"Hello Hinata." He said, his voice smooth, silky even.

"Hello Neji-nii, are you leaving now?" the timid girl questioned in a small voice.

"Yes, I'm just about to leave. Was there something you needed?" Neji asked, getting out of the car having already anticipated the answer.

"Y-y-yes. I forgot my favorite picture, it's on my bedside dresser. Could you get it and bring it to me please?" Hinata asked timidly.

"No problem Hinata. I'll be there in a few minutes." Neji said as he climbed the stairs.

"Thank you, Neji-nii. I'll meet you at the front steps to show you around, okay?" Hinata asked.

"Okay, Hinata." With that they said their good-byes.

Neji placed the phone back into the pocket of his washed out, loose jeans and walked into his cousins room. Neji looked to the dresser and picked up the photo in the stainless steel picture frame.

It was a group of teens in front of the art school that his prep school would be attending. There were two black haired teens on the top steps, and in between there was another teen with blue hair. Below them sat his cousin, a teen with bright red hair and below him was a blonde haired teen.

However, Neji's attention was drawn to the center of the photo. Sasuke Uchiha was someone Neji was very familiar with. And though he looked completely different in the picture than he had when they had known each other, Neji would know those eyes anywhere. Although he looked much happier than he had three years ago, Neji could still see some of the pain in those endless black orbs.

The brunette walked out of the room a little more sidetracked than he had been when he walked in. he hadn't taken part in the young ravens torture, but he hadn't spoken out against it either. And the reason was simple…

He, Hyuuga Neji, had been afraid to. His clique of peers saw him as the silent leader of the group. He was looked to for advice because he was strong, smart, wise, and generally perfect. What a lie that was.

Neji had lost his mother when he was very young and with the deteriorating health of his father, Neji knew it wouldn't be long before all he had were his friends. When Sasuke came along, he hadn't been strong enough to give them up just yet, so he remained silent.

'Well, no longer,' he thought as he got back into his car. Pulling nervously at his white polo and readjusting his brown leather necklace, he started the car. He would set things straight with Sasuke, apologize for not doing what should have been done, and maybe gain something in return.

"You don't have to be here Sasuke." Hinata said looking down at the raven haired boy that was sitting on the steps just below her.

Hinata was waiting for Neji to come so she could show him around the school and help get him settled into his room. Gaara had gone to help Shino and Shikamaru get moved back in, and Deidara and Die had volunteered to go get dinner for all of them. Sasuke had just finished helping Hinata unpack her clothes when she had made the call to Neji to ask him to grab her picture, the same picture that was on his kitchen counter.

"I know Hinata, I know." Sasuke looked up and gave her a reassuring smile.

The teen was restlessly playing with the hem of his small, black, We The Kings shirt. They were an alternative American rock band that he enjoyed. One of his drawn over green converse tennis shoes tapped absently at the ground as he stretched the other tight jean clad leg out in front of him. The slightly older teen was nervous.

"Gaara won't like this at all you know." Hinata said, looking at him with worried eyes. She knew very well that the Sabaku wanted nothing more than to hurt her cousin, along with his friends, for what they did to Sasuke. However, she also knew the part Neji had played in his torment, so she wasn't going to force the raven to leave, being she thought that he could handle himself.

Sasuke pouted, "Gaara doesn't control me, he'll respect my decision, whether he wants to or not."

Hinata sighed, "If you say so Sasuke… Gaara still won't be pleasant after he finds out."

Sasuke looked ahead, it was true, Gaara would probably be very angry at him. If not because of who Neji was, then at least because Sasuke had accidentally forgotten to mention it to him beforehand. But while Sasuke was very well aware of the wrath that would most certainly face him, (most likely it would simply be the silent treatment for the next few weeks), he was also very stubborn. Neji hadn't done anything to him (not technically) and besides, this was Hinata's cousin. They could show some manners and help some.

He was pulled out of his reverie by the roar of an engine. Hinata stood up and Sasuke did the same as a black mustang pulled into the front of the parking lot. An older looking teen got out of the car. The white polo did nothing to hide the built muscles of the young man and only made a nice contrast to his tan skin. He was tall, probably around 6'2" and his faded jeans couldn't hide his athletic frame.

Sasuke looked with slightly widened eyes, 'well… Neji had always been rather handsome.'

Hinata looked at her friend and giggled slightly, "Come on silly, if you're going to help then we need to go help."

Sasuke blinked and pouted again as the slightly shorter girl pulled him along to the car.

"Hey Neji-nii. Sasuke wanted to come help, I hope that's okay." Hinata said looking between the two teens.

Sasuke was quiet, looking at the ground, before looking up with a slightly guarded look in his eyes. Neji, for his part, took in the changes of the young teen before him. The long silky black hair, the pale slightly glowing skin, full pouting lips, and a slight curvy frame. Yes, Sasuke had changed, he had changed a lot. However, he felt a slight pull of guilt as he took in the guarded black eyes.

"Thank you Sasuke. I appreciate it." Neji said with all sincerity.

Sasuke blinked a little in surprise at that sincerity, but didn't drop his cautiousness. "It's no problem at all Hyuuga-san."

The three teens took the long way to the dorms, each walking while holding one of Neji's bags, Hinata making side comments about the building and instructions on how to get where the fastest.

"This will be your room Neji-nii. Mine is in the next hall." Hinata said while setting one of Neji's bags down on the bed.

Neji sat the bag in his possession down on the floor and looked around. It was a good sized room, not too small with it's own bathroom. It made him wonder curiously as to just how big the school was.

"What about your room Sasuke?" Neji asked curiously.

The mentioned teen sat the bag down and looked at the Hyuuga for a moment before replying, "I live in the North tower, top floor."

Neji nodded his head to show that he had listened to the answer. "Oh Hinata, here." He pulled the picture he had grabbed for her out of his bag on the floor and handed it to her. "It's a good picture." Neji commented with a slight smile.

"Thank you! I'm going to go put this in my room, I'll be right back." Hinata flew out of the room and left Sasuke and Neji in her wake.

The Hyuuga sat down on the bed after a minute and sighed while Sasuke busied himself with wiping down one of the dressers with a rag.

So focused was he on his task that he jumped a little when the Hyuuga began to speak.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." He said in a quiet voice.

Sasuke turned around and saw the pain and guilt in Neji's milky eyes.

"I know it's not nearly enough but I truly am sorry. All those times they harassed you, I should have said something, I should have done something. I should have stood up for you but I didn't and I am so so sor-" Neji was caught off though when he saw Sasuke smiling at him.

"I'm sorry too, Neji-san." Sasuke said with a sad smile.

Neji was completely confused, "For what?"

"For your father. I heard he passed away recently." Neji looked at him in shock, but Sasuke continued, "He must have been a wonderful man, to have raised such a person as you Neji-san."

Neji looked down ashamed, "I'm nothing to be proud of, I couldn't help someone when all it would have taken was my word."

Sasuke came and sat down beside the Hyuuga, taking his hand in both of his own, "It's okay to be scared sometimes Neji-san. I know what it's like to alone and I know that I wouldn't have jeopardized the only people I had for some kid I didn't even know, nobody is that strong. You have nothing to be ashamed of, so don't dwell in the past or you'll ruin your future."

Neji looked at the smaller boy incredulously, he was forgiving him, and what's more, he was even justifying his actions, "You really are something Sasuke-chan."

Sasuke blushed, "We're having dinner at my place tonight, would you like to come Neji-san?"

Neji looked at Sasuke and took in the light blush that was sprinkled across high cheek bones, "I would like that Sasuke-chan, I would like that a lot."

There was a cough from the direction of the doorway and there stood Hinata, A big smile on her face and cleaning tools in her hands.

"So are we ready to make this room presentable?" the girl asked.

Sasuke dropped Neji's hand, instantly making the elder miss the small hands that had been on his larger one. The raven haired teen took a bucket and the three commenced cleaning, but Neji looked at Sasuke one last time, the Uchiha looked back and smiled, Neji smiled back.

So there it be... PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT!!!!

and remember to spread the word... NEJI/SASU LOVE!!!!

I'm being serious here people, this pairing is just not getting enough respect, which is so sad, because i love this pairing dearly.

so if you enjoy either of my stories, try your hand at it and write one! Add to the love and we shall slowly take over with this pairing!!!!!!!!!!

Review... :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! I'm back!

I'm sorry for taking so long to update this story, but i had been looking back at previous chapters and decided to take this in a different direction. So instead of Neji/Sasu this story is going to be Gaara/Sasu... It just fits better.

But don't worry Neji/Sasu fans, I'm cooking up another story that is sure to grab your attention, after all, it's still my favorite and it makes my heart break slightly to think that there are so few of those stories out there.

Anyways, I hope you're not too mad at me :(

For disclaimer and warning, see first chapter...

Now, on with the show.

_I've gone too far to come back from here _

_But you don't have a clue _

_You don't know what you do to me _

_-Stop This Song (lovesick melody) by Paramore_

Shikamaru sighed, it took all of his will power to refrain from rolling his eyes and smirking in amusement, which he doubted Gaara would appreciate very much.

Not many people could read Gaara, but it was something that their little group could do fairly well, with Sasuke being the best and Die being the worst. However Shikamaru was fairly proud at being second only to Sasuke at this matter, as such it was relatively simple to see the annoyance and worry that Gaara was currently displaying. His shoulders were slightly tense, his knuckles white, his jaw barely noticeably tightened, and his eyes darting to the door at every miniscule sound.

When they had finished unpacking, Shino, Gaara, and himself had met up with Die and Deidara to help bring the food up to Gaara and Sasuke's apartment. They were fully expecting Sasuke to be there waiting for them, so it came as a surprise when he was no where to be seen. Sasuke rarely did anything without telling Gaara, but they were enlightened with a quick text from Hinata saying that Sasuke was helping her cousin unpack.

They were all put on edge at first, Neji's name was familiar to them and they knew that he had played some part of the ravens tragic past, but eventually they had relaxed, trusting in Sasuke to understand his limits. All of them, except for Gaara.

"You should calm down Gaara. If Sasuke didn't think he could handle it, he wouldn't have gone." Shino said, trying to get Gaara to relax some and see from Sasuke's point of view. Die and Deidara stopped their conversation to look over at their disgruntled friend.

'_So Shino noticed too…' _Shikamaru thought as he watched their tall redheaded friend stand up and begin to get down plates and cups. Every now and then he would catch a glimpse of his face, his lips set in a thin line and his mint green eyes narrowed. '_This is such a drag, what a way to start off the new term.'_

Shikamaru knew that Gaara was worried for Sasuke, but he knew that Sasuke could handle himself now. Gaara was more upset over the fact that Sasuke hadn't told him. Not that Shikamaru blamed him, they were all protective of each other, especially towards Sasuke. Gaara in particular was extremely protective of Sasuke, if anything came close to threatening him Gaara would make sure it was dealt with. The only thing that kept the others from being annoyed at Sasuke for not telling them was the fact that they understood that sometimes people had to do things on their own. Facing Neji was that kind of something for Sasuke. Then again, not all of them shared Gaara's feelings toward Sasuke….

As Gaara reclaimed his former seat, there was a distinct sound of a key being placed in the lock and turning, the door swung open and Sasuke walked inside, followed by Hinata and who Shikamaru assumed to be Neji Hyuuga. This time he couldn't help the sigh that came out of him, this was a recipe for disaster. He really should have figured that this would happen though, Sasuke's generous nature being what it was.

"Sorry we're late everyone, but Neji's room was a lot dirtier than we expected." Hinata said with a small smile, looking at Shikamaru.

The lazy genius just shook his head and sighed, knowing she was looking at him for an update on Gaara's mood. The shy girl bit her lip and as she forced herself to keep the smile on her face, although it was now about as tense as the air in the little living room.

"Anyways, this is my cousin, Neji. Neji this is Shikamaru, Die, Deidara, Shino, and Gaara." Hinata introduced them, pointing to each person as she said their names. Neji nodded his head and muttered a greeting, obviously aware that all of those assembled knew Sasuke's story, and his place in it.

At his name Gaara glared at the white-eyed boy, he was tense again and Sasuke was biting his lip as he stood next to said boy, a nervous trait he had picked up from Hinata.

"I invited Neji-san over for dinner as a sort of welcome, first days are a bit overwhelming and I thought it would help if he knew a few people. I figured we would have plenty of food." Sasuke supplied hesitantly as he moved to make everyone's plate, Hinata helping him. "Please make yourself comfortable Neji-san."

Neji threw him a grateful smile and Sasuke gave him one back.

Gaara's eyes narrowed even further and Shikamaru caught a glint of what he thought was jealousy. Sometimes Shikamaru wondered if it was really Sasuke who was the best at reading Gaara, because if he was, then surely he would have picked up on Gaara's feelings. It wasn't that hard to see actually, the way Gaara's eyes and hands always lingered a bit too long and the undeniable affection he had for Sasuke were blatantly obvious. Yet it was only he and Shino who noticed, then again sometimes it's easier to see from the outside looking in.

Neji took a seat by Hinata when she finally sat as Sasuke placed a plate in front of everyone before taking his own seat beside Gaara. Everyone sitting in a semi-comfortable circle as they ate, no one daring to break the silence for the first few minutes.

"So, Neji, how do you like the place so far?" Leave it to Die to be oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

"It's a very nice campus, big though, it will take some getting used to, but Sasuke-chan says that it gets easier to navigate after a while." Neji replied, looking over at Sasuke briefly before turning his head back to direction of conversation.

"It does get easier, the hallways all go in a circle by hundreds, with the cafeteria at the center. The library is kind of tricky, but once you find it, you'll never lose it, it is huge!" Deidara assured.

The group was slowly started to warm up to Neji, asking him questions about his old school, what he did on the weekends and for fun, his extracurricular activities and anything else they could think of to ask. Neji answered all of them, grateful that he hadn't been killed and was being pretty well received by most of them. Except for Gaara. Neji could already tell that he wasn't going to be getting along with him anytime soon. The red-head obviously didn't like him, and the feeling was mutual.

He didn't know what it was about the other boy, but he had an instant distaste for him. Maybe it was the way he had inspected Sasuke when they first got there, as if checking to make sure Neji had not hurt the small raven. Maybe it was the way his eyes followed Sasuke wherever he went and when on occasion they stopped on himself, they would narrow into a fierce glare. Or maybe it was the obvious affection and longing he held for Sasuke, who seemed oblivious.

The last one bothered Neji, but why was unclear. It wasn't as if he had a claim on the beautiful raven. But there was a nagging presence in the back of his mind that told him that he wanted one. He wanted a reason to call Gaara out for staring at Sasuke like he did, wanted the right to get angry. He wanted to be that person to Sasuke, but as it stood he couldn't do anything. It wasn't his place and Sasuke was free to do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted, even if that meant Gaara. However, that didn't mean he wasn't go to try his hardest to woo Sasuke, so that maybe one day, it would be his place.

So when it was time for him and Hinata to leave and everyone else had already left, he lifted his hand to Sasuke's face and brushed the bangs back, tucking them behind his ear.

"Good night Sasuke-chan." He said quietly, smiling at the blush on the younger boy's face. He could feel a malevolent gaze on him and before he walked out he leveled his own glare right back at the redhead. His challenge had been set.

Lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeee

Sasuke bit his lip as he sat on his bed waiting for Gaara to get out of the bathroom. When everyone had left he and Gaara had done the dishes and gotten ready for bed in silence. Sasuke tried to get him to talk using small talk and asking him questions but it was all ignored. He had known this was what would happen when he had chosen not to tell Gaara about where he was going that afternoon. He had justified himself at the time, telling himself that this was something he had to do on his own, and that Gaara would never have let him go. But that didn't justify not calling to tell him, he had a sneaking suspicion that he had hurt Gaara's feelings by not telling him.

The sound of the door opening caught Sasuke's attention and he looked up to see the tall redhead coming out of the bathroom. Gaara must have been hitting the gym, he was a lot more muscular than Sasuke remembered. The raven shook his head, unhappy with his thought process. He could take time later to contemplate why he had been admiring his friend's body, right now he had more important things to do.

"Gaara?" He said meekly, biting his lip again.

Gaara said nothing as pulled back the covers of his bed across from Sasuke's on the opposite wall.

"Gaara, please, I'm sorry. Please talk to me." Sasuke pleaded softly. This happened every time he upset Gaara, he would do the action that would make Gaara give him the cold shoulder, only to plead for him to talk to him within hours.

And just like every time in the past, Gaara looked at Sasuke's pleading face and sighed. He sat on the edge of his bed with his elbows resting on his legs, his face turned to the floor. Sasuke saw this sign of resignation and walked over to the others bed. Sitting down next to the redhead, Sasuke put one petite hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"I really am sorry Gaara, I know I should have told you, but you just worry far too much, I didn't want to bother you with it."

Gaara's eyes remained downcast. " You know I worry about you either way Sasuke, and don't talk about this like it isn't something important. It is important, you're well being is important. And don't talk about yourself as if you were a burden, you're not. If I didn't want to be here with you, don't think for a second that I would be. But I do want to be here, looking out for you isn't something I do because I think I have to, I do it because I want to, do you understand Sasuke?"

Gaara looked into the endless ebony eyes of the young raven, looking for some sign of understanding, trying to see if Sasuke would catch onto what he was really trying to say.

Sasuke hugged him softly, "I understand Gaara, next time I do something stupid, I'll call you to let you know so you can attempt to talk me out of it." Sasuke pulled back with a smile, " But I really don't think you have any reason to worry about Neji, he's very sweet, I don't think he could ever really hurt me."

Gaara scowled, not only did Sasuke not understand, but he had brought up that prick, "I don't like him, Sasuke."

Sasuke laughed softly, "I figured that out already, but why? It has to be more than his connection to _that _group, I could see you not really liking him in that case, but it's more than that. You really seem to hate him."

Gaara looked at him for a minute, he knew Sasuke was a tad oblivious when it came to stuff like this, having had a hard enough time making friends let alone tending to matters of the heart but still, "Don't you know?" He asked, his eyes looking into Sasuke's hard.

Sasuke blinked at the question, he opened his mouth to answer but the words left him when Gaara reached one hand up to cup his cheek.

"G-Gaara? What are y-you doing?" Sasuke asked shakingly as Gaara moved closer and closer to him. His mind was blank, his heart was pounding, and he couldn't seem to get enough oxygen. _'Is he really going to… to kiss me?'_

Gaara stopped when he was about three inches away, taking every detail of Sasuke's delicate features in before sighing and moving his hand up to ruffle the soft unruly black hair.

"Get some sleep Sasuke. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." Gaara released him and laid down under the covers, turning his back to raven.

Sasuke stood up and walked over to his bed mechanically wondering what the hell just happened. He laid down slowly and tried to slow down his heart. Once he got himself to relax he forced himself to not think about the day and tried to sleep.

Gaara made sure the other was asleep before turning over to face the raven. '_It's you, Sasuke. It's all because of you.'_

THE END (OF THE CHAPTER AT LEAST)

Sorry it was so short, but it's late and I'm tired.

SO what did you think? I won't know if you don't review, so leae me a comment :)


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